skitchskitch
by KnightMysterio
Summary: Quite suddenly and without explanation, Big Macintosh commits suicide. At the funeral, Applejack starts hearing a scratching sound that only she can hear. And then, as the day goes by, more and more of Applejack's life starts to change...


_**skitchskitch**_

 _ **by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires**_

 _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyrighted to Hasbro. All characters not original are owned by them and used for non-profit amusement purposes. All original characters are copyrighted to me._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _Sweet Apple Acres..._

 _Family graveyard..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was a dismal, gloomy day. It had been raining earlier, the still present clouds providing an appropriate atmosphere for the funeral beneath it, where a service was concluding.

"...and so, it is with deepest regret that we lay to rest Big Macintosh Apple, one of the most noble and respected members of our community," the preacher pony said solemnly. "May his soul forever exalt in the eternal beauty of the Summerlands." The unicorn closed the scripture he was reading from, and nodded sadly. "You may now come forward and pay your respects."

At the front of the funeral line were three mares, one aged, one young and vital, one youthful and formerly innocent, tears streaming down all three faces.

One by one, ponies and others came up to pay their respects to the family and to the fallen, laying a single lily in the coffin.

The first to come up was a canary yellow pegasus with a pink mane, sniffling. She set her rose in the coffin, and came over to the family. "Applejack... Apple Bloom... Granny Smith... I'm so sorry..."

Granny Smith smiled weakly. "It's okay, Fluttershy..."

Applejack nodded. "Thank y'all for coming," she said. "Ah know it's hard..."

"Harder for you than for me..." Fluttershy said, gently leaning down to kiss Apple Bloom's forehead. The young filly had a haunted look on her face, tears streaming her face. Fluttershy smiled sadly, and moved on.

Next to come up was an alabaster unicorn with a stunningly styled purple mane. She wore a simple black scarf and hat, her makeup visibly stained from crying. And yet despite her obvious sadness, she maintained an aura of poise an elegance. Coming up behind her was a young, similarly dressed mare who was sniffling openly. Once they had placed their lilies, they walked up to the family.

"Oh Applejack, darling..." she said, hugging the orange Earth pony. "I cannot imagine how hard this has been..."

"It's... easier with y'all here," Applejack said, hugging the unicorn tightly. "Thank y'kindly, Rarity."

The smaller unicorn came up to Apple Bloom. "Are you gonna be okay, Apple Bloom?" she asked gently.

The young apple filly looked up, smiling weakly and shrugging helplessly. The two hugged, and broke up into open sobbing. From the chairs an orange pegasus filly and a young, purple-scaled dragon came up, joining in the hugs. Applejack moved to break them up, but Rarity stopped her.

"Oh, let them be," she said. "We all need comfort in our own way."

Applejack smiled weakly, nodding, and let the four youngsters hug each other. As they did, a creature of mismatched parts came up to the gathered family, hovering through the air. He took Applejack's forehoof in his lion's paw and gave it a gentle kiss, smiling sadly.

"I'm surprised t'see you here, Discord," Applejack said. "Glad, but... well, I didn't think this'd be your type of scene..."

Discord chuckled gently. "My dearest Honesty. Check the records. While admittedly there were many back in the bad old days who wished I would, I have never, in my entire life, ever ended a life. Because life is the ultimate form of chaos. Life is a blessing that I would never take from anyone," he said.

"Surprisingly profound from a mismatched goofball like you," Granny Smith said, chuckling.

Discord smirked, taking it as a compliment. "I do have my moments," he said, moving on to comfort the weeping Fluttershy.

The pink pony with the straightened tail and mane was only recognizable as Pinkie Pie through her balloon Cutie Mark. Tears were steadily flowing down her face as she kissed Big Macintosh's face, leaving a kazoo in the coffin. "So you can have a party when you get to the Summerlands, big guy," she said with a forced smile on her face. She walked over to Applejack, hugging her and Granny Smith tightly. By this time, the three young ponies and the young dragon had gone off on their own.

"I'm sorry..." she said softly.

"I'm glad you're here, Pinkie," Applejack said, smiling gently. "We could use some laughter right now..."

Pinkie Pie shivered. "I can't believe he... he killed himself," she said, both she and Applejack looking over to Big Macintosh's coffin. Around Big Macintosh's neck was a rather conspicuous scarf, hiding the ragged tear the massive pony had made with the cutting knife he used to commit suicide.

"Ain't no tellin' what's in a pony's heart sometimes," Granny Smith said solemnly.

Pinkie Pie nodded. "The wake's back at the farmhouse," she said. "Forgive me if it's not as 'peppy' as my usual stuff." She chuckled weakly. "I'm... not really up for pep."

Applejack nodded, smiling. "Thank you kindly," she said.

Pinkie Pie nodded and moved as a lavender alicorn in black robes came forward, gently placing a flower into the coffin. She then went over to Applejack and Granny Smith, gently hugging them both.

"I'm glad y'came, Princess," Granny Smith said.

The alicorn smiled. "It's always just Twilight Sparkle. Especially now, just Twilight," she said softly. "I wish... I wish I could have done more..."

Applejack chuckled bitterly. "Know any magic t'raise the dead?" she asked. At Twilight's pained expression, Applejack shook her head. "It's okay, I was just joshin' you."

Twilight sighed. "True resurrection is impossible, even with the strongest necromancy. At best, somepony of at least mine or Discord's power could animate your brother's body as a revenant warrior, and I don't think that anypony wants that."

Applejack shook her head, smirking. "No, I think that'd be a bit much..." she said.

Twilight bit her lip, hesitating. "I could prepare a séance, so you could talk to your brother again..."

For a brief moment, Applejack and Granny Smith looked like they were considering it. But after a moment, they both shook their heads. "Thank y'kindly, Twilight," Granny Smith said. "But Big Macintosh's finally at peace. Let's let him rest."

Twilight nodded, saying nothing more and moving on. As she finished speaking with them, a blue pegasus with a strikingly colorful mane and tail came up to the coffin. She gently lay her lily in the coffin and sighed. She went up to Applejack and hugged her tightly.

"Well..." the rainbow-colored pegasus said. "This... kinda sucks, doesn't it?"

"Y'all got a way of statin' the obvious, Rainbow Dash," Applejack said, looking mildly annoyed.

Rainbow Dash flinched. "Sorry, sorry..." she said. "I'm not good at things like this..."

Applejack smiled weakly. "I'd be worried about anyone who is," she said.

Rainbow Dash chuckled appreciatively. "I... I wish we could have done something to help your brother..."

Applejack nodded. "Me too, sugarcube... Me too..." she said solemnly. "I..."

 _skitchskitch_

Applejack looked around, frowning. "Did any of y'all hear something just now?"

Rainbow Dash and Granny Smith traded confused looks. "Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

 _skitchskitch_

"Like... I dunno, something critter claws scratching wood. Just now," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash and Granny Smith both shook their heads. Applejack shrugged. "Must have been nothing, then..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _Later that evening..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _skitchskitch_

"Dangit," Applejack muttered, the sound startling her awake. "The heck is doing that?"

 _skitchskitch_

"Winona, that better not be you runnin' around," she muttered, yawning. She left her room, heading for where the dog's bed was. She found her curled up cutely, her paws positioned so that it looked like she was hugging her plush chew toy.

Applejack felt her annoyance drain away at the adorable sight. She chuckled, and turned around to go back to her room.

 _skitchskitch_

"Dangit..." she muttered, heading for where she thought the source of the sound was. But after several minutes of searching, she couldn't find anything. She shook her head, annoyed. "Well... maybe it was just a raccoon or some other critter..." She shrugged, and went back to bed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _The next day..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Mornin'!" Applejack said as she came up to her friends. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle were all gathered in the park, sharing tea and cookies. Discord and Spike were off to one side, preparing pancakes on a grill and having a mild argument over what to put in them.

Fluttershy smiled. "Good to see you, Applejack," she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"All things considered," Applejack said, chuckling weakly. "Talked to Granny, and she gave me the next few days off from most of my chores." She popped her neck. "Normally I'd want t'work to help take my mind off of my problems, but... ah dunno, just bein' in the fields hurts right now..."

Twilight nodded. "Understandable," she said, offering her some cookies.

Applejack sat down, eating some of the offered cookies. She looked around, and said, "Say, Fluttershy, you missing any critters of yours?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Not that I can think of. I did get a male raccoon and a female fox in recently, but they've been staying near my cottage," she said. She frowned a little, and added, "Discord insisted on naming them Sly and Carmelita for some reason..."

Discord snorted laughter as Fluttershy shrugged. Applejack rolled her eyes. She'd given up on figuring out 'Discord logic' long ago. "I heard some scritchin' around in the house last night. I thought maybe a raccoon or something had gotten in. It happens," she said.

Fluttershy nodded. "It may just be a wild one, then," she said. "I'll ask around, see if anypony else has noticed anything."

Applejack nodded. "Thank you kindly," she said, helping herself to another cookie. She looked around, and frowned curiously. "Rainbow Dash and Rarity not get here yet?"

The others suddenly looked startled.

"Who dat?" Pinkie Pie asked, smiling curiously.

Applejack frowned. "...Two of our best friends," she said. "Y'know, Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt Reserves, pranks around town with you a lot... And Rarity! She runs the Carousel Boutique just downtown."

Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle traded worried looks. Pinkie Pie just looked confused.

"Applejack... You've never met Rainbow Dash. I've only told you about her," Fluttershy said. "After I got my Cutie Mark, she stayed in Cloudsdale and went on to become a full Wonderbolt."

"And Rarity's an old friend of mine from school," Twilight Sparkle said. "Carousel Boutique's in Canterlot, not downtown. We've only met her like, once, and that was when we were getting fit for our Gala dresses."

"Oh! Rightrightright," Pinkie Pie said, recognition dawning. "I remember now. I liked Rarity. She was pretty, if a bit stuffy."

"I wish it was downtown," Spike said, smiling dreamily. "Rarity was gorgeous..."

Applejack gave the others a baffled look. "What are y'all talking about? We've known them for years!"

Discord began to look thoughtful, as the others gave her concerned looks. Applejack frowned. "This... this is a prank, isn't it?" she said after a moment, standing up and looking around. "Cmon out, Rainbow Dash! This isn't funny at all!"

Fluttershy frowned. "Applejack... this isn't a prank," she said. "We really don't know what you're talking about."

Applejack scowled. "It has t'be. Pretending we've never been friends with Rainbow Dash and Rarity? That's just... it's something I'd expect HIM to do!"

"I'm just standing here!" Discord protested. One of the pancakes tried to fly away, and he quickly pressed it back down on the griddle, grinning innocently.

Twilight Sparkle gave Applejack a worried look. "Applejack... Whatever's going on, it can't be Discord. I've got at least twenty different tracking and alert spells on him, including ten whose type he doesn't know about."

Discord blinked, and looked affronted.

Twilight smirked at him. "Positions reversed, big guy, wouldn't you take as many precautions as possible? Even WITH a promise of friendship?"

That seemed to mollify the draconequus, who just smirked and chuckled. Applejack, however...

"That still don't explain why you're doing this," she said. "We've been friends with Rainbow Dash and Rarity ever since y'all came to town to stop Nightmare Moon."

Pinkie Pie's hair was starting to droop as her concern for Applejack grew worse. Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't you show us where Carousel Boutique is in town?" she said, packing up the picnic.

Applejack shook her head, leaning the entourage into town. "This is ridiculous. Carousel Boutique's been here for years now, and..." she trailed off as she came to the Boutique's location. Or at least, where it should have been.

Instead, there was an empty lot. And it looked like it had been empty for years.

"Wha?! I just... How..." Applejack stammered, running into the lot. She looked around frantically, feeling the air, trying to determine how this could have happened. "No... No NO NO NO NO!" she screamed. "It should be here! Rarity's Boutique should be here, and..." She whirled, turning on Discord. "You. YOU did this. It's the ONLY explanation!" 

"Now, see here..." Discord protested.

"NO!" Applejack snarled. "You just bring Rarity and Rainbow Dash back right now! And undo whatever it is you done did on the others, so..."

"Applejack, you're making a scene," Twilight said, smiling nervously at the gathering ponies. Pinkie Pie had begun running around, trying to mollify the crowd. Spike tried to comfort Fluttershy, who was shaking badly at the sudden increase in attention. Discord just glared at Applejack, offended.

"I don't care!" Applejack said. "It's the only possible explanation for this!"

"No, Applejack, it's not," Twilight insisted.

"Oh really?" Applejack snorted. "Name me ONE THING other than him that could erase Rainbow Dash and Rarity from our lives like this!"

Twilight named fifteen.

Applejack staggered, falling to her knees. "I... I don't..." she stammered, looking up at Twilight and the others with tears in her eyes. "What's going on?"

Twilight looked thoughtful. "If you'd be willing to come to my lab and give me a few samples, a brain scan, blood samples, and the like, I can do some research and possibly find a reason for all this," she said. "I can have the results by tomorrow."

Applejack nodded, looking shaken. "Yeah... Thanks, Twi..."

As the group made their way to Twilight's castle, Applejack bit her lip and looked up at Discord. "I'm... sorry..."

Discord sighed, smiling wearily. "Oh, I'm used to my friends not actually trusting me by now... At least Twilight is straightforward in admitting she still has issues with me..."

Applejack grimaced, walking the rest of the way in silence. She didn't know what to say to make it better, letting Twilight take her scans.

"Okay," Twilight said. "I'm going to run some tests, and get back to you tomorrow. Are you sure nothing else strange is happening?"

"Just... just those critter sounds from the night before..." Applejack said.

Twilight looked thoughtful. "Try setting up some animal traps," she said. "You can get some from Fluttershy."

Applejack nodded, heading over to Fluttershy's cottage after bidding Twilight farewell. She came across Discord first, the draconequus doing something creative with a flowered trellis.

"Can anybody find meeee... somebody... somebody to... looove!" the flowers on the trellis sang as Applejack approached.

Discord shook his head. "No, no, no, not Queen, Fluttershy would just be left blushing at the lyrics," he said, snapping his fingers and returning the flowers to normal. "Ah. Applejack. What brings you here?"

Applejack grimaced. "I wanted to borrow some traps from Fluttershy, but since I got y'here, I... I want to apologize again for earlier. You've been awful good to us ever since the mess with Tirek, and I shouldn't have suspected you right away."

Discord smirked at her. "No, you shouldn't have. But I appreciate the effort," he said. "As for said traps..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "She's actually gone off to Zecora's for afternoon tea. I do know where the traps are though." He opened a hole in space and pulled a bunch of random gizmos out of the hole. He formed a bag out of some leaves and gave the traps to Applejack.

"Need any help setting them up?" Discord offered.

Applejack took the bag in her mouth, shaking her head. "Naw, I've worked with these before. Thanks though," she said, heading off, leaving Discord to figure out which songs to make the flowers in the trellis sing.

She went back to Acres. But as she did, she encountered Pinkie Pie. The baker grinned nervously. "I know I'm not the best at things like this," she said, hugging Applejack tightly. "But we'll figure out what's going on, I Pinkie Promise. And then we'll have a big party celebrating our win."

Applejack smiled, hugging her back. "Thank y'kindly, Pinkie," she said. "A party would be great at this point."

Pinkie Pie smiled and hopped away. Applejack shook her head, cheered up a little, and went back home. She explained to Granny Smith what she was doing, leaving out the part about Rarity and Rainbow Dash seemingly being written out of their lives. No need to worry her grandmother any more than needed...

"I don't remember hearing no critter last night," Granny said confusedly. "But you do whatever you think might help, sugarcube."

Applejack nodded, smiling. "Thanks Granny. Where's Apple Bloom?" she asked.

"Scootaloo talked her parents into letting Apple Bloom go on vacation with them," Granny Smith replied. "I figured it'd be good for the little one to get away from the farm for a while, after what happened."

Applejack nodded. "That makes sense," she said, sighing. She hugged Granny Smith and went to set up the traps. After doing that, and taking care of some other chores, she visited her brother's grave for a few hours and went to bed.

That night...

 _skitchskitch_

She awoke with a start as the scratching sound hit her ears. She looked around, disturbed.

 _skitchskitch_

Applejack just stared into the darkness. "What are you, anyway?" she asked softly.

 _skitchskitch_

"Do you have somethin' t'do with what happened yesterday?" she asked.

 _skitchskitch_

Applejack scowled. "Well, critter, if'n you'd be so kind as to let yourself get caught, me and Twilight and Fluttershy would like a word with you." The sound seemed to die off after that, and Applejack, satisfied, went back to sleep.

The next day, Applejack got up to check the traps. Not a single one had been tripped. Grunting in frustration, she shook her head and went out to do her morning chores, making sure the cows were properly milked and let out in the fields to eat, cleaning the other, non-sentient farm animals, and the like. It was good work, and helped keep her mind off of her problems.

She got a harsh reminder of said problems when Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike showed up.

"Hey..." Applejack said, smiling weakly. "Just you three today?"

Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy traded concerned looks. "...You implying there's more than three best buds you should be watching for?" Spike asked.

Applejack's blood went cold. She shivered. _Not again..._ "...Pinkie Pie and Discord?"

Twilight blinked. "Discord? As in the old legend of Discord the Mad? What's he got to do with anything?" she asked.

"And I don't know any Pinkie Pie..." Fluttershy said.

Applejack staggered, Twilight rushing to her side to support her. "It's happened again, Twi..." the farmer moaned. "I wake up, and two more of my friends are gone, like they never existed..."

Spike blinked. "Wait, two 'more?'" he asked.

Applejack nodded. "First Rarity and Rainbow Dash, and now Pinkie and Discord... My whole life's being taken from me..."

Fluttershy looked surprised. "Rainbow Dash? How do you know about her?"

Applejack frowned. "She's a Wonderbolt, isn't she?" she asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "No... She wanted to be, and she had a good chance to because she did the Sonic Rainboom, but she lost both her wings in a training accident... She works as a weather coordinator in Cloudsdale, and can only fly via prosthetic wings..."

Spike grimaced. "Ouch..." she said. "Bad times..."

Fluttershy nodded sadly. "She was always a good friend. We keep in touch from time to time... But how did you know about her? I've never told anypony about her..."

Applejack just shivered. "I don't know what's going on..." she said.

Twilight frowned. "Um... I do have the results of your examination last night," she said.

Applejack looked up at her hopefully. "Have I been drugged? Had my head messed with?"

Twilight grimaced at Applejack's hopeful look. "...All tests show you to be perfectly healthy. No tampering with your brain patterns, magical aura, biological functions or anything of that nature."

Spike snapped his fingers, getting an idea. "Maybe she's from an alternate universe! Like the one Sunset Shimmer went to, but with ponies!"

Twilight shook her head. "I thought of that too," she said. "This is our Applejack, Spike. Not an alternate, not a clone."

Applejack shivered. "...Can you do something for me?" she asked. "I want to see something..."

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Anything for you, AJ," she said.

Ten minutes later, the four of them were on a train, heading out to a small rock farm Applejack directed them to. Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy talked quietly amongst themselves, Applejack just staring out the window.

They came up to the farm, where a dirty, white-coated, heavily muscled unicorn with a short-cropped purple mane and tail was leading a dull pink Earth pony with a straight mane and tail towards the train station. The difference between the two is that the unicorn had her cutie mark, a geode full of crystals, and the pink one, shivering nervously and holding a basket of gray lumps in her mouth, was lacking hers.

"Oh no..." Applejack said, recognizing them.

"You know them?" Twilight asked softly.

Applejack nodded. "Rarity and Pinkie Pie," she said.

The two groups met halfway out of the farm. Rarity blinked, the muscular unicorn smiling. "Ah! Perfect timing," she said, lacking any trace of her cultured accent. "My name is Rarity, and my associate is Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie. We both live and work at this rock farm here. We were heading out to let everypony at the station sample Miss Pie's delectable pastry concoctions in the hopes of helping her find work more suited for her talents." She turned to Pinkie Pie. "Go on, show them," she said, nudging the frighted mare forward.

Pinkie Pie gulped, and set down the basket. Inside were gray lumps of something that looked vaguely like cake, dusted with powdered sugar. "W-Would you like to try my rock cakes?" she stammered, smiling fearfully.

The others hesitated. Rarity smiled. "They're really better than they sound," she insisted.

There was a long moment of hesitation, Pinkie Pie looking like she wanted to bolt. "It's okay," she said. "You don't have to..."

Fluttershy was the first to move forward, taking one of the rock cakes. She smiled, that warm, loving, motherly smile of hers, Pinkie feeling herself relax a little. Emboldened, Applejack, Twilight, and Spike took a cake as well. All four took a hesitant bite... and were immediately smiling.

The cake itself was a dark chocolate, but inside were 'gemstones' of various fruit jellies. Spike got grapes, while Applejack got strawberries, Twilight and Fluttershy both getting raspberries.

"These are really good!" Spike said, taking another one. Rarity beamed.

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. "You... You really like them?" she said softly.

"These are fantastic!" Twilight said, grinning brightly. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Applejack smiled, polishing off hers. "Back where we come from, ponies there would pay to eat treats this good," she said.

Pinkie Pie blushed brightly. "You... You're just saying that..." she said softly.

Applejack smiled. "I'm a baker myself, sugarcube. And I can tell you that these are right tasty," she said.

Pinkie Pie grinned hopefully. As she did, there was a silver-blue flash, and her cutie mark, a rock cake split open to reveal the jelly centers, appeared on her flanks. Rarity gasped. "Darling... look! Your mark!" she said, grinning ear to ear.

Pinkie Pie blinked, and looked at her flanks. Letting out a gasp of joy, she smiled, a true Pinkie Pie smile, hugging Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, and Rarity happily. "I... I gotta show Mom, Dad and my sisters!" she said, excitedly. "Help yourself to the cakes! And thank you! Thank you so much!"

She ran off, Rarity sighing happily. "I'm so glad... She's always had such horrible self-esteem issues..." she said, mainly to herself. "Oh, but forgive me. I haven't even thought to ask you your names. Just because I live such a rough and tumble lifestyle doesn't mean I should neglect basic courtesy."

Twilight introduced everypony. Rarity smiled. "A pleasure," she said. "What brings you out this way?"

Applejack smiled weakly. "I was looking for somepony I know who lived out this way... I guess I was wrong..."

Rarity frowned. "I hope you find them, then," she said.

Applejack grimaced, nodding. "Me too..."

The Ponyville residents each took another rock cake (Spike taking a third, as he had already eaten two by the time Applejack and Rarity had finished talking), bidding Rarity and Pinkie Pie their farewells.

The train ride back to Ponyville was taken in an awkward silence. Twilight was the first to speak. "You mentioned a couple days ago... something about an animal getting in?" she asked.

Applejack nodded slowly. "I borrowed some traps from Fluttershy," she said.

Twilight looked thoughtful. "It's a longshot at this point, but there could be a creature of some kind that's altering your perceptions of reality, inventing things for you. My first thought that it was a babadook, a spirit that feeds off of survivor guilt, but none of the signs match the usual patterns of one. I can look through my lore notes and see if there's any mention of a creature doing what you're describing, 'rewriting' your personal reality."

Applejack sighed, laying down on the seat. "I'll try and catch it again..."

"And if it's not a creature..." Twilight said, trailing off. The others looked at Twilight worriedly. She sighed, and continued. "If it's not a creature that's doing this, then I have to strongly suggest talking to a psychologist..."

Applejack glared at her. "I ain't crazy, Twi. I know this is happening to me. My friends... Something is writing my friends out of my life..."

"It's just something to consider," Twilight said, smiling gently.

"Ain't NOTHING to consider," Applejack insisted, looking away. "That critter's behind this. I'm sure of it. I just have to catch it..."

Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike traded worried looks, the rest of the trip proceeding in an awkward silence. Once they disembarked, the four of them went their separate ways for the day.

That night, Applejack set up the traps again, adding new bait. Almost as soon as she lay down, the scratching noises started again.

 _skitchskitch_

"You're behind this, I know it," Applejack said as she lay in her bed, staring at the doorway to her room.

 _skitchskitch_

"Whatever you are, you won't get away with it," she said. "I'll stop you."

 _skitchskitch_

"Danged varmint..." the farmer muttered, slowly drifting off to sleep.

The next day, Applejack was woken up by a scream from her grandmother. She ran downstairs... and screamed herself at the sight of the horror in her living room. Not one, but several creatures had been caught by the traps, which had been twisted and mangled into something vaguely resembling Big Macintosh.

"A-A-Applejack?" Granny Smith stammered. "What's going on?!"

Applejack shuddered at the hideous sight. "I don't know, Granny... But I'm hopin' I can find out..." _Before I go crazy,_ she mentally added. She then immediately dismissed the thought. The two mares tied a couple ropes around the mess, dragging it outside and burning it on the compost heap. They then cleaned up the blood left in the living room.

"I gotta go, Granny," Applejack said. "There's some folks I gotta talk to."

Granny Smith shivered. "Hurry back, darlin,'" she said. "I don't know what that was, or why it looked like your dead brother, but it gave me the heebie jeebies."

Applejack hugged the older mare tightly, and ran off. She headed for the edge of the forest, intent on talking to Fluttershy. When she got to where the shy mare's cottage was, however...

"No no NO! What's going on!?" Applejack screamed at the pristine, totally wild and overgrown trees and foliage that filled the space where a cottage should have been. "AAAH!"

She snapped. The farmer rampaged about, venting her frustration and screaming Fluttershy's name. After the third scream, though, a faded but colorful streak appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Applejack and pinning her to the ground.

"Who are you?!" demanded the figure. "How do you know Fluttershy's name?!" As Applejack's vision returned to normal, she gasped softly.

It was Rainbow Dash. But most of her colors had faded. And instead of a cloud with a colorful lightning bolt in it, there was an equals sign.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Applejack said, shocked.

Rainbow Dash blinked, and snarled. "How do you know my name!? TELL ME! Who are you!?"

Applejack tried to answer, but the pegasus was shaking her too hard. After a few moments, Rainbow Dash was lifted away, given to a massive Earth Pony, with darkish brown fur that also bore an equal mark where his cutie should be. A pinkish-lavender unicorn with her mane in a near crewcut was the one levitating the struggling pegasus, who's struggles turned into sobs as she hugged the large Earth pony.

"Troubleshoes," said the unicorn, "take her someplace quiet so she can lay down." Troubleshoes nodded, the massive Earth pony lumbering off with Rainbow Dash still sobbing in his grasp.

Troubleshoes?! she thought. Oh, she knew who the unicorn was. Starlight Glimmer, the most recent nemesis of the former bearers. But she thought that Troubleshoes had...

... _This isn't your world anymore. There probably wasn't any Cutie Mark Crusaders in this world to help Troubleshoes, and now that I think of it, he seems like the perfect type for Starlight to exploit_... she thought.

Starlight waited until they were out of sight, and sighed, turning back to Applejack. "So... It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm..."

"I know who you are," Applejack said. "You're Starlight Glimmer."

Starlight sighed wearily. "My reputation precedes me, it seems. But you seem to be one of the ones who misinterpret my intentions... Anyway, getting off-topic. Who are you and how do you know Fluttershy?"

"I'm Applejack, and..." the farmer shivered. "And Fluttershy's one of my best friends."

Starlight's eyes narrowed. "Okay, that's not funny..."

Applejack glared right back. "What are you talking about?"

Starlight shook her head. "When Rainbow Dash first got her Cutie Mark, doing a Sonic Rainboom, the shockwave accidentally knocked out Fluttershy, who was on a nearby cloud."

 _No..._ Applejack thought.

"She fell straight down to the ground below..." Starlight said, closing her eyes sadly.

 _No no no no no no..._ Applejack shook her head, tears streaming down her face. _Not her... Please, not her..._

"Her body was crushed on impact," Starlight finished. "The only good thing that could be said about it is that she died instantly..."

Screaming, Applejack fled from the place where Fluttershy's cottage should have been, running into town at full speed. _Please, please, let Twilight still be there..._ she thought. Thankfully, as she got into town, she saw Twilight's castle in the distance. She ran inside, looking around frantically for the alicorn, finding her in a mass of papers, tossing them around as she looked for something.

"Twi?" Applejack said frantically. "It happened again! It keeps HAPPENING! People I know and love keep having their histories changed and now Rainbow Dash works for Starlight Glimmer and Fluttershy is dead and..."

Twilight, for her part, was startled when Applejack had come in and started rambling. She really needed to finish this work... But seeing the tears in the farmer's eyes and her obvious distress, Twilight immediately put it all aside.

"Applejack. Calm down and tell me everything," she said. "I know you've been stressed these past few days. Understandable, considering your brother's suicide. But you need to calm down and look at things rationally."

"'Rationally?'" Applejack said bitterly. "Since the day after Big Mac's death, every one of my closest friends has disappeared from my life, their history getting steadily worse every time I go to sleep. And now Fluttershy is DEAD and I don't know what to do and I just..." She covered her head with her hooves, whimpering.

Twilight Sparkle frowned. "...I suppose it'd be a bad thing to ask you who Fluttershy is, wouldn't it?"

Applejack glared at her. "Right," Twilight said, coughing. "I remember yesterday you said something about a critter that was in your house?"

Applejack took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah... Left a bunch of animals all mangled in the traps and make it look like Big Mac's head..." she said.

Twilight grimaced. "It sounds like a poltergeist, and a malevolent one... I can easily have it exorcised, but poltergeists wouldn't be able to just rewrite a pony's history like that..." She frowned. "I need to look something up..."

She started to move away. As she did, Applejack grabbed her. "Wait, please... stay with me. I don't wanna be alone... Whatever you need, just have Spike get it..."

Twilight blinked. "Who?"

Applejack's heart sank. _Spike too... Just Twilight left..._ She began sobbing. "My life is being taken from me, Twilight. And I don't know what to do about it..."

Twilight bit her lip. "You get some rest," she said, going over to pour some tea from a nearby pot. She pulled out a small packet of a bluish powder, tapping it into the cup.

"What's that?" Applejack asked.

"Just something to help you sleep," Twilight said, smiling benevolently. "Perfectly harmless. Zecora made it for me."

Applejack backed away from it fearfully. "NO!" she screamed. "Every time I go to sleep, more of my friends are written out of my life. I won't lose you too!"

Twilight frowned, worried. "There's a reasonable explanation for this," she said. "Right now, you need to relax. I'm going to call a doctor, and..."

Applejack jumped to her hooves. "NO!" she insisted. "I'm not crazy! I'm NOT! Something is stealing my life from me. And that critter I heard, whatever it is, is responsible!" She swatted the teacup aside, running out of the room. "I'll stop it! I'll get everypony back, and we'll all be happy and together again!" she shouted, laughing a desperate, mad laugh.

"Applejack, wait!" Twilight said, teleporting in front of Applejack. "Please, you need help..."

Desperate to get back to the Acres, the source of the sounds she had heard, Applejack punched Twilight in the stomach, winding her and leaving the alicorn gasping for breath. She thought she felt a couple ribs in Twilight's barrel break... She shook her head. Apologies later, save the world now.

She galloped past her grandmother, who was coming into town to check on Applejack. She ran up to the farmhouse, and almost roared her challenge. "SHOW Y'SELF! I know you're here! I know you're the one who's been taking my friends out of my life! Well I'm not allowing it anymore, damn you, now SHOW YOURSELF!"

 _skitchskitchskitch_

Applejack's ears flicked in the direction of the scratching noise. She turned, following the noises, which grew steadily more intense as she approached a closet in the most secluded part of the farmhouse. She glared at the closet door. The _skitchskitch_ sounds, the scratching of dozens of claws, could be heard non-stop now. Applejack gritted her teeth, opening the door...

...and she saw it. She saw its eyes, too many eyes, its teeth, God help us, the TEETH...

Applejack shrieked in fright, and ran. From inside the closet, the horror burst forth, the scratching of its claws now the tearing sound of sharp blades through metal, a low, chilling chuckle coming from the beast. She ran, heading downstairs, tripping down the stairs.

The horror still followed. Applejack tried to get out the front door, but the creature, moving with astonishing speed, blocked her path. Shrieking, sobbing with fright, Applejack ran, crashing into chairs and she entered the kitchen. Frantically, she pulled a carving knife out of the drawer.

"YOU STAY BACK!" she shrieked, waving the knife. "STAY AWAY!"

The horror let out a low, gurgling sound which may have been a laugh. Applejack shivered in terror. "You... You're the one who got Big Mac, aren't you?" she said, a frightening thought coming to her. "You killed him! But you won't get me, y'here? YOU WON'T GET ME!"

Applejack brought the carving knife to her throat...

"Applejack? Granny? I'm home, I... APPLEJACK WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

...and cut.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 _Epilogue..._

 _Ponyville Medical Center..._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Five mares and one baby dragon, all with haunted expressions, sat in the waiting room. A frustrated, saddened draconequus was pacing back and forth. A catatonic, motionless Apple Bloom stared sightlessly at the television, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle

And listening to them talk was a tired-looking doctor.

"She just... deteriorated..." Rarity said, her makeup horribly smudged from crying. "It was like she couldn't see us... And she kept having conversations with ponies who weren't even there..."

"She wouldn't respond to us in the right way..." Fluttershy said, sobbing. "And just today... she couldn't see me at all, she said I was dead..."

The doctor shook his head in frustration. "Why didn't you come to me sooner? It was clear that she was having a psychotic breakdown. You don't always have to go to the magical solution, or a supervillain..."

Twilight grinned weakly. "In our line of work, doctor, it usually is a supervillain, or some magical curse. That's why we worked those angles first..."

"How's Granny Smith doing?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"She's in shock..." the doctor said after looking through his notes. "Plus she has a small concussion on from where she fainted and fell on her head." He shook his head. "I honestly don't know what to tell you..."

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom just stared at the television screen. It switched to a live news report.

"We are hear to discus the recent tragedy that has befell our humble township," said the reporter, a sleazy-looking woman with a microphone for a Cutie Mark. "Applejack, eldest child of the Apple family, has tragically taken her own life. We will try to get an exclusive interview with her friends and family, to get their feelings on this tragic turn of events."

The former Element bearers and their associates, as well as the doctor, all looked up at the screen in disgust. Discord, snorting, went out to chase them off.

"Nothing too critical, please," the doctor said. "We'll just have to treat them later."

Discord stared at the doctor for a moment and chuckled. Soon after, the image on the screen changed to that of a pie fight as Discord scattered the reporters.

"M'brother..." Apple Bloom said softly.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned sharply. "Apple Bloom? Y'talked!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "The TV. They got it wrong... Oldest child in our family is Big Macintosh, m'big brother. Not Applejack..."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle traded confused looks. "I don't remember you ever having a brother, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom stared at her two friends incredulously. "What?"

 _skitchskitch_

Apple Bloom looked around, startled out of her confusion by the scratching noise. "Y'all here a scratching just now?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both shrugged. "'Let's talk about this brother thing..." Scootaloo offered.

Apple Bloom frowned. What was going on?

 _skitchskitch_

 _ **DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE APPLES YOU EAT?**_

 _ **THE END**_


End file.
